I ran across an ad for Amsoil's new synthetic transmission fluid for V-Twins. If anyone is using this I would be interested to know if it's viscosity is similar to standard red ATF. A number of automotive manual transmissions are spec'd to use ATF and I've been curious why it wouldn't work in a motorcycle trans. My Borg Warner T5 in my Jeep CJ7 uses ATF as well as one of my first cars, a Pontiac Phoenix that had a manual transmission used Dexron II ATF.
Amsoil Synthetic V-Twin Transmission Fluid
- Thread starter Bellavita
- Start date
- Status
Reasonable to assume it will be oil, certainly not transmission fluid (as we know it) // no vtwin uses automatic transmission fluid, only oil.
AS far as viscosity, good question but have a feeling maybe they are looking to grab some business from Redline, if so, think we can expect it to be more heavy.
Last edited:
According to the information on the product page: Amsoil Synthetic V-Twin Transmission Fluid
It has a viscosity of about 20 cSt at 100C, so it is similar to an SAE 50 oil; much thicker than ATF.
Yep If marketed for v-twin transmissions it's a pretty safe bet it's much more akin to gear lube than ATF. I've never heard of someone running anything with a cST at 100C of 7-ish in a Harley transmission. In the primary, sure.
Thank you all for the timely answers!
It would be interesting to find out the engineering and science of how normal ATF does work in manual transmissions in cars. Is it the gear loading, gear teeth profile, metallurgy, rotation speed, engagement shock etc.
Amsoil used to say to used their 20/50 wt v-Twin motor oil in your motor , primary and transmission of your Harley. They said it met the Gl-1 gear oil rating. Harley said to do the same with their oil, but never claimed it met any API standard, and no symbol was on the bottle of either. That didn't stop them for asking top dollar for the oil tho.I have tried Harleys 20/50 wt oil in the trans of my bikes and found the shifting to be stiff and loud. There was a definite difference in shift quality when I changed to regular auto parts store 70/90 wt gear oil. I'll never use motor oil in my transmissions again. And I'm sure the cost of their new and improved "V-Twin trans oil" will leave most purchasers underwhelmed.,,
Originally Posted By: Bellavita
I ran across an ad for Amsoil's new synthetic transmission fluid for V-Twins. If anyone is using this I would be interested to know if it's viscosity is similar to standard red ATF. A number of automotive manual transmissions are spec'd to use ATF and I've been curious why it wouldn't work in a motorcycle trans. My Borg Warner T5 in my Jeep CJ7 uses ATF as well as one of my first cars, a Pontiac Phoenix that had a manual transmission used Dexron II ATF.
amsoil USED to be PAO + Ester aka real synthetic, these days they say little + charge a lot IMO. most of Amsoils lubricants are likely good group III base oils, severely hydrocracked CRUDE oil with just enough group IV + or V to meet a spec, in other words good but not a lot better than other cheaper fake synthetics IMO
Right you are benjy. Brand name synthetics have gotten better and better
and Amsoil has been stretching its product more and more.
They offered a 'blend' of their best stuff mixed with group III.
Followed by more and more overpriced mixtures in between their best and
their cheapest-IF you could use the term 'cheapest' in the same sentence with the
word Amsoil.
$12 a quart still lures some in though.
My 2¢
Originally Posted By: benjy
amsoil USED to be PAO + Ester aka real synthetic, these days they say little + charge a lot IMO. most of Amsoils lubricants are likely good group III base oils, severely hydrocracked CRUDE oil with just enough group IV + or V to meet a spec, in other words good but not a lot better than other cheaper fake synthetics IMO
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
Right you are benjy. Brand name synthetics have gotten better and better
and Amsoil has been stretching its product more and more.
They offered a 'blend' of their best stuff mixed with group III.
Followed by more and more overpriced mixtures in between their best and
their cheapest-IF you could use the term 'cheapest' in the same sentence with the
word Amsoil.
$12 a quart still lures some in though.
My 2¢
Well what's the answer then?
Do the Amsoil products in question contain group III or do they use purely group IV and V base oils?
I would guess they are group IV and V based on SDS info I've seen, but I'd rather hear a direct answer rather than assume.
Harley Formula +
For 9 bucks a quart I just use the Harley stuff in the tranny and it shifts ok w/o any worries.
Quote:
Do you actually know this for a fact? Can we have some evidence?
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Harley Formula +
For 9 bucks a quart I just use the Harley stuff in the tranny and it shifts ok w/o any worries.
Last edited:
I would try Mystic oil if it was sold within 500 miles of me. Even tho I live less then 20 miles from New York, it can be impossible to find some oil products that seem to be available everywhere else.,,
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
Quote:
Do you actually know this for a fact? Can we have some evidence?
Originally Posted By: MotoTribologist
Well what's the answer then?
Do the Amsoil products in question contain group III or do they use purely group IV and V base oils?
I would guess they are group IV and V based on SDS info I've seen, but I'd rather hear a direct answer rather than assume.
the main goal of Amsoil is to maintain profits.
It the top of the line products are Group IV and V,
what's in the 'lesser' lines?
ALL additives are part Group II oil(carrier oil).
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
the main goal of Amsoil is to maintain profits.
It the top of the line products are Group IV and V,
what's in the 'lesser' lines?
ALL additives are part Group II oil(carrier oil).
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
the main goal of Amsoil is to maintain profits.
It the top of the line products are Group IV and V,
what's in the 'lesser' lines?
ALL additives are part Group II oil(carrier oil).
- Status
